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Neerim Lodge born out of Aquanita Racing, no quest

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3blindmice View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 3blindmice Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Feb 2018 at 12:29pm
Originally posted by VOYAGER VOYAGER wrote:

Unless we see direct betting activity from the directors, I can not see how they can be held accountable.

Ever since the TAB has been around it has been used by criminals to launder money, so do we just shut every betting terminal down and just go online, where we can see a person's activities, who works as a mechanic, but is puting $500,000 through a year.

I agree with djebel. This model of training and administration should be implemented by race clubs. As we have seen here, if a private company does the admin, then they are caught up in any bad issues associated with the trainers and their staff.

   

That's precisely why I've asked the question. Forensic examination of betting activities of all Aquaneerim officials, staff and their associates is an absolute MUST to clear them completely. I'd expect directors would be pushing for that themselves. Should evidence be uncovered showing big(ger) bets occurred that still doesn't prove knowledge of malpractice (as against knowledge that XXX was a hot chance) but it would/should be enough to force resignations.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pnclick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Feb 2018 at 11:48pm
Originally posted by Baghdad Bob Baghdad Bob wrote:

Have any of the contributors on this forum,ever heard of the term' bowlers' to place bets on your behalf ?


Bowlers usually have some form of connection, and they will, and most likely are, being checked out. RVL will have the information, they receive live (and end of day) data feeds from ALL approved betting operators (barring the Asian Exchanges of course), so they will have information to work on. It's not like the old days when racing bodies would ask operators to provide info, and some of that info "mysteriously" disappears.

Aquanita have form with the Tania Hyatt turning over hundreds of thousand on Betfair laying their horses. Maybe Aquanita should have tried to protect that Tania a bit more instead of letting her take the wrap.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote monty1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Feb 2018 at 9:02am
Yes, Tania, Danny Nikolic's girlfriend.
Remember when Damien Oliver had the bet (his first), Smerdon was the one who handed him the brown paper bag full of cash.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Batman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Feb 2018 at 10:03am
Settle down everybody. All is well now because there is a new name. đŸŽ‚đŸ„‚đŸ˜€
Nobody will remember that naughty Aquanita brand.
“Gambling has brought our family closer together. We had to move to a smaller house.”
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Go Flash Go Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Feb 2018 at 11:39am
Used to just follow the horses regardless of connections if they're going well (sometimes l got it right LOL ) .... would sometimes back 'em.
 
That's how got on here posting. When Divine Maddona went whoosh at it's first win at Flemington thought to see if could learn more about it and was it true or not.
 
So now there's this to add to that. A little dissapointed; l'll stick with the horses they're always true but this is going to be a rocky ride ...  am fond of a few of the people involved as they are icons of racing ..... and let's hope the staff,  the innocent staff that is, get through it alright.
 
 
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote linghi11 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Feb 2018 at 4:14pm
Originally posted by Batman Batman wrote:

Settle down everybody. All is well now because there is a new name. đŸŽ‚đŸ„‚đŸ˜€
Nobody will remember that naughty Aquanita brand.


The Aquanaughty
to the victor
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote monty1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Feb 2018 at 11:22pm
Accused race doping trainers’ messages exposed
Leo Schlink, Herald Sun
February 20, 2018 9:00pm
Subscriber only
RACING figures doped champion horses in some of Australia’s biggest races — possibly including the Melbourne Cup — according to explosive texts obtained by the Herald Sun.

Secret exchanges uncovered by integrity investigators indicate two Cup horses were doping targets in 2015, while up to six other horses in support races on the same day may have been illegally treated.

TEXTS REVEAL BRAZEN ALLEGED DOPING UNDER NOSES OF OFFICIALS

LEO SCHLINK: DAMNING TEXTS PAINT DISTURBING PICTURE OF ALLEGED HORSE DOPING

The texts lift the lid on how a group of trainers and stable staff are alleged to have evaded Racing ­Victoria’s security network for years to dope horses with performance-enhancing sodium bicarbonate.

In one bombshell exchange, trainer Liam Birchley and stablehand Greg Nelligan discuss using “top-ups” — believed to be a reference to a slurry of bicarbonate and other substances often administered within minutes of competition.

The practice is an extreme violation of racing rules.

“Can u org a top up for tomorrow pls,” Birchley texts on Cup eve.

Nelligan responds “Roberts (top trainer Robert Smerdon) ordered 5, I’ll need a wheelbarrow to carry them all”, before Birchley quips “You’ve got deep pockets”.


Trainer Robert Smerdon studies his phone at Caulfield trackwork last October. He faces 115 charges relating to the doping scandal. Picture: Vince Caligiuri/Getty

RACING VICTORIA LAYS HUNDREDS OF CHARGES AGAINST GROUP 1 TRAINERS INCLUDING ROBERT SMERDON


AQUANITA RACING RESPONDS AFTER DOPING CHARGES WERE LAID AGAINST TRAINERS AND STAFF

Nelligan then appears to reference doping two horses due to run in the Cup, texting: “I’ll be walking funny, got two cup horses as well. Don’t tell Robert.”

“Mercenary!” Birchley says, adding: “Which ones we backing.” Nelligan texts: “Robert had me do one for the guy with the cup horses a few years ago so it’s not out of the circle of trust but I still don’t tell him.”

The exchanges provide the first real insight into one of the biggest ­alleged scams in racing history.

FLICK THROUGH DOZENS OF DAMNING TEXTS BELOW
RACING VICTORIA DOPING SCANDAL TEXT MESSAGES REVEALED


DAY BEFORE THE 2015 MELBOURNE CUP
1 of 21

THE GROUP 1s: October 12, 2011, Caulfield - Mosheen (Group 1 $502,000 Thousand Guineas)
2 of 21

April 7, 2012, Rosehill - Mosheen wins the Group 1 $405,000 Vinery Stud Stakes
3 of 21

PLANNING THE SCAM: October 7, 2011, Moonee Valley - Destiny’s Kiss wins, Classic Elle runs second, Madaba Flyer runs seventh and No Means Go runs third.
4 of 21


There is also evidence Smerdon’s VRC Oaks winner Mosheen was illegally treated on racecourses before contesting Group 1 races.

And Smerdon’s champion hurdler Black And Bent is under scrutiny after major race wins in 2011-12.

Both horses are named in text messages.


Black And Bent (blue) runs down Desert Master (grey) on his way to winning the Galleywood Hurdle.
The alleged conspirators even jokingly lament at one stage about how it is “hard to cheat” in Japan.

Smerdon, Birchley and Greg Nelligan, trainers Tony Vasil, Stuart Webb and Mornington’s Trent Pennuto, stable employee Danny Garland and office worker Denise Nelligan were last month charged with a total of 271 racing offences dating back to 2010 over the alleged scam.

All are charged with engaging “in a practice that was dishonest, corrupt or fraudulent” in that they were “party to the administration of alkalinising agents and/or medications to a horse or horses on race day”.

Sodium bicarbonate — also known in racing circles as “milkshakes” or bicarb — is the substance the accused are alleged to have illegally administered on race morning and again at the track.

Once on course, the horses were allegedly given “top-ups”.

It is illegal for horses to be treated one clear day before racing. The alleged doping was being carried out within an hour of competition.


Mosheen, ridden by jockey Danny Nikolic, wins the Vinery Stud Stakes at Rosehill Gardens in 2012.
In one text exchange between Smerdon and Greg Nelligan before 2011’s Group 1 Thousand Guineas, Smerdon appears to instruct Nelligan on timing and dosage.

“Does Mosheen have a guard?” Nelligan asks.

“No. Want to topup her and Stoneblack only,” Smerdon texts.

This prompts Nelligan to respond “Will do”, then “50 mins ok s Black.”

“Only if they’ve tested him otherwise wait until 40 when the previous is due to be run,” Smerdon says.

“No test will wait.” Nelligan confirms, before saying “Mosheen tested at 2 hours, go 40 again?”

“I’d say go whenever you like,” Smerdon concludes.

Mosheen finished second to filly Atlantic Jewel.


Mosheen and jockey Danny Nikolic return to scale after winning the Vinery Stud Stakes at Rosehill Gardens.
All of the accused have links, past or present, to Aquanita Racing, whose board currently includes businessman Peter Howell and Melbourne Racing Club chairman Mike Symons. There is no suggestion that either Howell or Symons had knowledge of any alleged doping.

The Aquanita inquiry stems from float driver Greg Nelligan’s alleged attempt to illegally treat Smerdon-trained mare Lovani at Flemington on October 7 last year.

Nelligan was caught allegedly administering a “top-up” to Lovani with a modified syringe as champion mare Winx paraded before the Turnbull Stakes.

Racing integrity officers claim those involved became so proficient at avoiding detection they were able to dope horses within 40 minutes of competition, despite the presence of integrity officials and CCTV.

They would then back the treated horses.

Smerdon, Webb, Danny Garland and Denise Nelligan voluntarily stood down from their roles last month as Aquanita Racing was rebranded Neerim Lodge.

Birchley and Vasil have been conditionally ­allowed to continue training.

Racing Victoria said it had no comment given that the investigation was continuing.

leo.schlink@news.com.au
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote monty1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Feb 2018 at 11:25pm
I am just loving this! It is the gift that keeps on giving.

I wonder if owners of horses that were beaten by the drugged up horses take legal action?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote monty1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Feb 2018 at 11:28pm
Can’t wait for more text message evidence from the circle of trust!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bonjour Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 5:58am
My guess is most of them will never train again, it's the contempt that pisses me off, nothing in my horses, except oats and ability, and I ran second on many occasions when I suspected foul play.....just by the language and actions of the winner/s......must be hundreds of poor buggers like me.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bonjour Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 6:04am
Why would you race a horse in VIC?.......Look at the Cobalt crap, still presentation waiting, but what about the Vets, the other Cobalt cases in waiting, Sam Kav might have kicked it all of in NSW, but the whole thing stinks with the VIC vets......now these trainers, with the damning texts, they've been having a laugh, fine the bastards millions, make em sell their assets, put it into the injured Jock fund, or animal welfare, don't know if the rest of you are so angry, but sure as hell I am.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote marble Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 7:43am
the whole thing stinks - but the question that bothers me is that they were doing it with impunity and no fear of getting caught. top up 40 minutes before race, who was turning a blind eye at the track.
 how about some security cameras in raceday stalls. 
Is it happening in other states?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bonjour Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 8:33am
Exactly Marble, this could be a much wider story, can't sweep it under the carpet, like the good old days, Chief Steward might have got the Cobalt boys wrong, but I really believe he is a justice chaser, learn from past mistakes, and get these fleas, get them good....make us happy and confident we can invest on the tote or the books with transparency and ease of mind. A problem though is the frozen samples wont show up anything as the 'shake' is gone, clear......nothing to see......the case revolves around the texts and of course someone rolling over......if that happens, gone, gone gone....just ask Mr Murray Farquhar...thank God for immunity. Murray showed how it should be done!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Shawy38 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 8:44am
They are done. Ain’t no coming back from this.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Spearmint Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 8:46am
Ok, so Nelligan says he has to do 2 horses in the Cup for a trainer who is in the "circle of trust", this means the trainer must have at least 2 horses in the Cup.

The list with 2 or more runners is

Weir
Waller
Waterhouse
Hayes/Dabernig
Aidan O'Brien

Take your pick

I haven't necessarily put them in order of suspicion
"Nothing in the world is so powerful as an idea whose time has come"
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Spearmint Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 8:57am
Whoops missed Dunlop and got Weir wrong, he only had the winner
"Nothing in the world is so powerful as an idea whose time has come"
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote furious Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 8:58am
This is ugly but at least Mosheen didn't seem to have long term harm as she already has a stakes winner in Japan.  That's the only positive thing I can think of though.  At least what ever it was didn't hurt the animal.  But it is certainly damning.  I love the racing industry because or the horses.  The absolute athletes who give there all and can come up with one like Winx.  Why is it that the human element let the side down.  We see the good the bad and the ugly in this industry. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote anabel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 8:59am
Originally posted by Spearmint Spearmint wrote:

Ok, so Nelligan says he has to do 2 horses in the Cup for a trainer who is in the "circle of trust", this means the trainer must have at least 2 horses in the Cup.

The list with 2 or more runners is

Weir
Waller
Waterhouse
Hayes/Dabernig
Aidan O'Brien

Take your pick

I haven't necessarily put them in order of suspicion


Sport 927 claims there were only 3 trainers with 2 runners, the only local being David Hayes. Hayes, to his credit, came on the show to discuss it and strongly denies any cheating.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Spearmint Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 9:03am
Also Nelligan says 2 horses for a guy in the cup. I guess this does not necessarily mean he is the trainer of those 2 horses
"Nothing in the world is so powerful as an idea whose time has come"
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Passing Through Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 9:07am
''Guy'' with the Cup runners would seem to eliminate Gai
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Passing Through Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 9:10am
Waller had 3 runners in it
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Spearmint Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 9:13am
The other possibility is that Nelligan was just trying to big note himself and the story about topping up 2 cup runners was just bull dust
"Nothing in the world is so powerful as an idea whose time has come"
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Bi Carb Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 9:14am
Finally , a huge step in the right direction towards justice.
A few of us in here have been ardent supporters of the level playing field concept , not sure we will ever get it , but this is a huge step.
Many have thought we where just whiners and moaners and 'sore losers' , when in fact we are just honest fair dinkum triers.
Been plenty of bleeding hearts sticking up for the cheats for a long long time , well , lets say how this plays out.
Caulfield has been a rats nest for along long time.
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote skippy123 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 9:24am
The mail is one of the horses was a regular, an international..
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote skippy123 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 9:28am
[QUOTE=Bonjour] Exactly Marble, this could be a much wider story, can't sweep it under the carpet, like the good old days, Chief Steward might have got the Cobalt boys wrong, but I really believe he is a justice chaser, learn from past mistakes, and get these fleas, get them good....make us happy and confident we can invest on the tote or the books with transparency and ease of mind. A problem though is the frozen samples wont show up anything as the 'shake' is gone, clear......nothing to see......the case revolves around the texts and of course someone rolling over......if that happens, gone, gone gone....just ask Mr Murray Farquhar...thank God for immunity. Murray showed how it should be done

Rumours of Smerdon and co doping their horses have existed for years and even people not directly involved in racing have commented on this and wondered how they suspected and the authorities didn’t.
I have questions (and suspicions) relating to a former integrity person that had been rumoured to be tipping these guys off and protecting them for years..
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote skippy123 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 9:32am
I suspect that these guys were hiding in plain sight and the stewards didn’t need to act (they have such discretion )until they caught Pennuto and the RADB compelled them to actually investigate..
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote monty1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 9:40am
Interesting one of the journalists on RSN this morning said that these grubs even had a last supper (farewell dinner) as they knew they were gone. How I would love to know who was at that dinner.
Word on the street is a couple of trainers are breathing sighs of relief as they only went under pseudonyms and not their real names so they can’t be done, which is is a shame as we need all of the cheating mongrels gone.
Honest trainers are running 2nd to these pricks and then they have the winners and get horses thrown at them to train and honest John gets shafted.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 2Square Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 10:06am
The story going around is the cup horse in question came 2nd by the smallest of margins
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote monty1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 10:10am
Knew shifty Merrick Staunton was involved. He is named helping do Mosheen prior to winning the Group 1Vinery in Sydney.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 3blindmice Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2018 at 10:13am
Originally posted by Spearmint Spearmint wrote:

The other possibility is that Nelligan was just trying to big note himself and the story about topping up 2 cup runners was just bull dust

Wanna have another guess or phone a friend? 
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